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North Staffs students set up businesses to battle for entrepreneur prize

"The project is a lot of fun, but it is also an awful lot of hard work."

The Flowerpot Men showing their green fingered products

Students from across Staffordshire are battling it out to be the ‘Young Enterprise Company of the Year’.

Dozens of teenagers representing seven schools and colleges have formed start-up businesses.

Each group set up a stall at the Intu Potteries shopping centre on Saturday to sell their products.

Nine pupils from Bucknall’s Blackfriars School FE College set up Team Worx, manufacturers of quality plastic products who design simplistic phone and tablet holders.

Georgina Sewell, the 16-year-old sales director from Mow Cop, said: “We decided to make a product that could be used with the latest technology.

“Mobile phones come in all different shapes and sizes, so we wanted to create a product that would fit them all but would still be simple. The stands can be used for all sorts of items, such as cookbooks or leaflets. I think we have a good product because it is creative and handmade.”

The group produced its stands with no waste, using every bit of plastic bought.

Alex Grubb, of Bentilee, the 16-year-old financial assistant of Team Worx, said: “We are hoping to make at least 50 per cent profit from our stands. We spent £80 on the material and made 60 items altogether which are being sold for either £2.50 or £3.50.

“The project is a lot of fun, but it is also an awful lot of hard work.”

Team Worx is planning to approach companies with the proposal of designing bespoke office stands.

Newcastle-under-Lyme School pupils formed three separate businesses, all competing for the top prize.

One of these is Memoire, a designer of ‘memory boards’ made of wood and foam that can be used to attach photographs to.

Abdullah Chaudhry is the 17-year-old managing director of the venture.

The teenager, from Newcastle, said: “We wanted to create a handmade product using only materials from England.

“We did a lot of market research and chose to make products that we thought would sell, but also that we would be passionate about. We have made something we are genuinely interested in.”

The group sold more than 20 memory boards to Hanley shoppers on Saturday.